Re: Radioactive gems circulating in Asia?

[Michael Williamson <m.williamson@mailbox.uq.edu.au>]

I have seen radioactive gems in Australia.  At the time I was unable to do
more than put a GM tube meter over the surface (several hundred cps at a
few cm with a 2" pancake probe with a 2-3 mg cm-2 window).  The counts
seemmed to be produced almost entirely by beta emission.  Has anyone done
gamma spec on one of these stones?

I imagine there would be a plethora of nuclides shortly after irradiation
and these would decay within a few weeks, leaving some longer lived stuff
like Eu152, Co60, Gd153, Mn54 etc (the precise nature of these would
obviously depend on trace element content).

It's possible some of these stones might be legally radioactive under some
regulatory systems, if only for a short while after leaving the reactor!

Michael Williamson
(m.williamson@mailbox.uq.edu.au )

Radiation Protection Adviser

Occupational Health & Safety Unit
University of Queensland
Brisbane 4072
Australia

ph +61 7 3365 4504
fax +61 7 3365 1577

The opinions expressed in this communication are those of the writer:
unless explicitly stated they should not be taken as representing the
official policies or views of the University of Queensland.